BBC World Service has launched BBC Romania, further building on its global commitment to reach more people with trusted news, it said.
As well as BBC Romania it has also launched BBC News Magyarul which will deliver news and analysis via their websites – bbc.com/magyarul and bbc.com/romania – and their social-media channels.
They will serve people across Hungary, Romania, Moldova and beyond with independent and impartial coverage of key global and regional developments, the BBC site said.
The Romanian-language website and social-media channels on Facebook and Instagram were available from Tuesday 23 June. Both language offers will have YouTube and TikTok channels going live later.
At launch, bbc.com/romania’s website and its Facebook and Instagram channels include:
- A welcome video from BBC News producer Mircea Barbu, who has been covering news from this region of Europe for a number of years for the BBC and who will now also contribute to the materials published by BBC News Romania
- What happens when 100 hospitals are attacked by hackers? A special investigation by BBC World Service cybersecurity reporter Joe Tidy about a ransomware strike on hospitals in Romania – showing how the country’s health authorities managed to stop the spread of the attack and what lessons this incident can offer to other countries
- How did brown bears lose the sympathy of Romanians? An analysis of one of the most debated nature conservation issues in Romania, at a time when the country – which is home to the largest bear population in Europe – plans to kill some of them
- The story of a Ukrainian prisoner of war who survived thanks to memorizing the Harry Potter books and retelling them to cellmates during captivity in Russia
- The Risks of Illegal Sperm Donors and Why Women Around the World Fall Prey to Deception
The Hungarian-language website and social-media channels on Facebook and Instagram went live from Tuesday 16 June.
To serve their respective audiences – across Hungary, Romania, Moldova and beyond – with independent and impartial coverage of key global and regional developments, the pilot services will cover a broad range of topics on which audiences in Central and Eastern Europe are seeking accurate information, and will be in easily discoverable, social-first formats.
The content offers in Hungarian and Romanian will share a mix of stories covering global and European current affairs, health, science, technology, climate, and cost of living.
Both editorial teams will use AI translation technologies responsibly to bring audiences the BBC’s high-quality global journalism in Hungarian and Romanian. Journalists will curate the editorial offer and ensure there is human oversight of all AI-assisted content which will be clearly labelled when used.
Teams will produce original reports and analysis.
Interim Global Director, BBC News, Fiona Crack, says: “In an age of shrinking press freedom, rising disinformation, and global uncertainty, delivering independent and impartial news has never been more important. Launching BBC News Magyarul and BBC News Romania is a milestone built on innovation, like AI-assisted translation tools used responsibly, in order to reach new audiences with trusted news.”
BBC News Magyarul and BBC News Romania follow the successful launch of BBC News Polska.
In less than a year since its inception, BBC News Polska has an average weekly reach of 537,000. In the most recent quarter, this grew substantially, with a weekly average of 808,000. The service’s reach among women is particularly high, making up nearly 60% of audiences on average since launch.
BBC News Magyarul and BBC News Romania Editorial Lead, Kateryna Khinkulova, adds: “I’m excited to be leading a team of highly skilled and experienced colleagues as we launch BBC journalism in two more languages, Hungarian and Romanian.
Our offer is tailored to share high-quality journalism on the subjects that are of special relevance to the audiences we serve. With these two languages, we are eager to expand our reach in the region, especially to women and younger audiences, with the best of the BBC’s journalism.”
Expanding the BBC World Service’s global content offer to 45 languages including English, BBC News Magyarul and BBC News Romania will be available digitally around the world.
BBC News Magyarul and BBC News Romania add to the BBC’s presence in Hungary, Romania, and Moldova via BBC Studios. In Hungary, BBC Studios distributes the television channels BBC News and BBC Earth; in Romania – BBC News, BBC Earth and BBC First; in Moldova – BBC News and BBC First.
The BBC’s radio broadcasts – and later, websites – served Hungarian-speaking audiences between 1939 and 2005. The Romanian service operated between 1939 and 2008.
